The BJP has slammed the Bharat Jodo Yatra of Congress that began on Wednesday in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari as a “family-saving campaign” to keep control of Gandhis over the party.
Attacking the campaign, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the country is already united and that if Rahul Gandhi wanted to he could attempt reuniting India with Pakistan and Bangladesh for “Akhand Bharat”.
“The country is united and integrated from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Silchar to Saurashtra and there is no need for the unification,” he said. “In 1947, the country was partitioned for the creation of Pakistan and later Bangladesh came into existence. If Rahul Gandhi has any regret or is apologetic for the problem created by his ancestors, then he should try to integrate Pakistan and Bangladesh with India for the creation of Akhand Bharat (undivided India)… if he has any regrets over Partition. Otherwise, the country is united and integrated from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Silchar to Saurashtra and there is no need for the unification,” the Assam Chief Minister told reporters on Wednesday.
Sarma’s comments come at a time when Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is in the country for a 4-day diplomatic visit. The Bangladesh PM met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday and signed seven MoUs to boost ties between the two countries.
Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh responded to Sarma’s remark saying the Assam CM was a “recent migrant” to the BJP and has to make such statements to prove his loyalty to his current party.
Sarma was earlier a member of the Congress.
“I don’t take Assam CM seriously, because he has to prove his loyalty every day after having been a part of Congress for 20-25 years. He is a recent migrant to the BJP, so he has to make outrageous statements every day,” Jairam Ramesh said. “I think the Assam CM is boyish, immature.”
Sarma continued the war of words asking “who is he?” when asked to respond to Ramesh’s comments. “First, tell me who Jairam Ramesh is. Is he someone who lives in Assam? Who is he? I have no idea. Who will remember the name of a Congress leader? I was never very close to any man with such a name when I was in Congress. I don’t even know who he is,” Sarma said.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra will start from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and then move northwards, passing through Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Nilambur, Mysuru, Bellary, Raichur, Vikarabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Indore, Kota, Dausa, Alwar, Bulandshahr, Delhi, Ambala, Pathankot and Jammu, before culminating in Srinagar. The campaign will cover over 3,500 km of the country.
